Army edited photos to remove Morena logo from bus in which meth was seized

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June 25, 2021

Soldiers remove meth from the cargo bay of a bus bearing the Morena logo.

After the military seized a shipment of crystal meth from a bus in Apatzingán, Michoacán, on Wednesday, photos of the seizure — published in local media and on line — clearly showed that the vehicle bore an advertisement containing the logo of the ruling Morena party.

But in photos later released by the army it had disappeared.

The Ministry of National Defense announced the drug bust on Thursday, saying that the army and National Guard seized 280 kilograms of crystal meth in the operation, worth an estimated 83 million pesos (US $4.2 million).

Shortly after, the army shared its own images of the bust. The logo on the bus, which had originally read “Morena: the hope of Mexico,” had been erased. In its place a new inscription read, “The army: the great strength of Mexico.”

Social media users questioned the decision and shared the original images.

The army's edited image of the meth seizure. — The army’s edited image of the meth seizure.

“Don’t modify the images. You are there to serve the nation, not a political party,” wrote one user.

The seizure occurred on the Apatzingán-Buenavista highway in Michoacán. Army officials found the drugs during a routine inspection.

With reports from Debate

AMLO promises Metro’s Line 12 will be operating ‘with complete safety’ within a year

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MND Staff

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June 25, 2021

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Mexico City Metro Line 12 accident — The May 3 accident, only 9 years after Line 12 opened, was caused by construction flaws, according to preliminary investigation results.

The Mexico City Metro line, where 26 people died on May 3 when an overpass collapsed, will reopen within a year, President López Obrador said Thursday.

“I can now tell the people of Tláhuac and the people of Iztapalapa and Chalco, those who use [Line 12 of] this transport system, that it will be operating again with complete safety in a year from now at the latest,” he said at his regular news conference.

The president stressed that he was referring to the entire line, which runs underground for approximately half its length and in the open air on an elevated overpass for the other half.

Last month’s tragedy, which preliminary investigation results indicate was caused by construction flaws, occurred just nine years after Line 12 opened.

López Obrador said the entire line, which runs from Mixcoac in the capital’s southwest to Tláhuac in the southeast, will be thoroughly inspected before repair work commences. An inspection by the Mexican College of Civil Engineers already found that the entire elevated section of the line needs maintenance or repair.

Billionaire Carlos Slim leaves Mexico's National Palace — Carso, the company of billionaire Carlos Slim, right, seen leaving the National Palace Tuesday, built the part of Line 12 that collapsed. President López Obrador said Slim is willing to do needed repairs.

“A complete review will be done. It’s already being carried out, and I’m taking charge of it,” López Obrador said, explaining that Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum asked for his involvement.

“… I give my word that we’re going to resolve the problem; I’m talking about a … reconstruction of the project,” he said.

López Obrador ruled out any possibility that the military, which is building the new Mexico City airport and part of the Maya Train project, will participate in the repair work.

“… We’re going to have agreements with the companies [that built Line 12],” he said, adding that business tycoon Carlos Slim, whose company Carso Infrastructure and Construction was involved in the project, is a “responsible man” and socially conscious.

López Obrador said Wednesday that Slim was willing to repair the line, but it was unclear whether his company would absorb any of the cost. The president reiterated Thursday that he supports the investigations into the disaster and those responsible being punished.

The president didn’t visit the site of the May 3 tragedy and initially took a back seat in the political management of the disaster, which threatens to ensnare Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard — who was Mexico City’s mayor when Line 12 was built — and Sheinbaum, both of whom are considered leading contenders to succeed him. But López Obrador will now take sole responsibility for informing the public about the progress toward reopening the line, Sheinbaum said this week.

CDMX Metro Line 12 crash site — The Mexican College of Civil Engineers inspected most of the line and found that the entire elevated section needs maintenance or repair.

“There is an agreement that everything will be reported through the president,” the mayor said.

López Obrador said that he was happy to assume the responsibility because it will enable him to respond to media smear campaigns about the Metro disaster and its cause.

Sheinbaum evidently grew tired of relentless questioning on the issue, requesting last week that reporters stop asking her about it.

“I don’t want to keep talking about this Line 12 issue … because precisely what you want is confrontation, into which I’m not going to fall, for any reason,” she said on June 15, two days after The New York Times published an investigation that found serious flaws in the construction of the collapsed overpass.

Meanwhile, rumors are circulating that Metro director Florencia Serranía, who has disappeared from public view since the accident, will be shown the door. Asked about that possibility on Wednesday, Sheinbaum declined to confirm any speculations on the matter.

Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum at a June 16 press conference on plans for the Metro’s repairs. She will cede her role as information point person to the president, she said.

The May 3 crash, the worst disaster on the Metro in more than 50 years, is not the only fatal subway incident since Serranía became director in 2018. One person was killed and more than 40 were injured in a crash between two trains in March 2020, while a policewoman died in a fire in the Metro’s downtown substation in January 2021.

With reports from Reforma and El País

Cozumel restaurant offers food and beer in exchange for gathering sargassum

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Rose Egelhoff

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June 25, 2021

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gathering sargassum — A family gathers the seaweed before enjoying a meal on the beach.

Massive amounts of sargassum are once again washing ashore in Quintana Roo, affecting both tourism and the environment.

But a Cozumel restaurant has come up with an innovative way of dealing with the stinky mess: offering free food and drinks to locals and tourists who help clean it up.

Restaurant owner Francisco Reyes said he was looking for a way to motivate guests to come help with the cleanup, improve the image of the area and enjoy some beach time. He calls the initiative a “Sargassathon.”

The restaurant provides the bags, tools, face masks and gloves to protect against the sargassum, which is irritating to the skin. The reward earned depends on the number of bags collected. Three bags earns a soft drink, four earns a beer and 20 bags can be exchanged for a ceviche, french fries and six beers.

Local resident Argel Carillo brought his whole family to participate in the cleanup. In less than 30 minutes, they cleaned a meter and a half-long stretch of beach and filled more than 20 bags.

“We all came because we were free and with more hands, we can fill more bags and get more food,” Carillo said.

With reports from Milenio

Walmart decision not to rehire seniors to bag groceries triggers boycott

By

Rose Egelhoff

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June 25, 2021

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Seniors marched in protest against Walmart Wednesday in Mexico City.

For 35,000 seniors, bagging groceries in Walmart for tips was a way to make a little money but at the start of the pandemic, those workers were dismissed.

Now, Walmart has announced that the seniors will not return to work, a move that has triggered a boycott among customers.

With the viral hashtag #YoNoComproEnWalmart (“I don’t buy from Walmart”), social media users are calling on others to join the boycott, which also calls on participants to stop shopping at Walmart-owned Bodega Aurrera, Sam’s Club and Superama.

The company announced last December that the baggers would not return, based on the fact that plastic bags are now banned around the country and the idea that shoppers do not want the seniors touching their products for sanitary reasons.

“We have observed that our clients want to avoid that third parties have contact with the merchandise,” the company said at the time. “We have stopped providing single-use plastic bags to support the care of the environment, so our clients now bring their own bags and have gotten used to packing the merchandise.”

Social media users argued that the job could still exist, since shoppers bring their own cloth bags and in some stores, paper bags are available.

To protest the decision, dozens of affected seniors marched on the National Palace on Wednesday, demanding that President López Obrador do something about the issue.

“It’s unjust that they make us feel like a nuisance. This is the only place where they give us work and we want them to see that we can still keep working,” said Susana, 64.

She had worked for three years as a grocery bagger, and said her life savings were not enough to live on in retirement.

“I decided to become a bagger to support myself, but I realized it made me feel productive,” she said.

López Obrador said Thursday that the federal government will call on Walmart to reconsider the decision.

“I will analyze it and call on them to help, to contribute. Walmart is one of the commercial enterprises with the highest sales, so why not help?” the president said in response. “It’s a matter of talking with them; often issues can be resolved with dialogue, with communication.”

The president instructed Leticia Ramírez, the director of citizen services in the president’s office, to reach out to Walmart executives to analyze the situation.

With reports from El Fi nanciero and El Universal

Routine search for firearms turns up some unusual contraband

By

Rose Egelhoff

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June 25, 2021

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During a check for illegal firearms, municipal police in Cárdenas, Tabasco, found another, unexpected type of contraband: a stolen cow curled up in the back of a car.

The police were conducting routine weapons checks when they saw a yellow Ibiza being driven erratically. They stopped the car and found the six-month-old cow inside. None of the people in the vehicle could provide documentation showing that the cow was theirs.

All three occupants were arrested and will likely be charged with cattle theft, a crime that carries a two to 15-year prison sentence.

The federal Congress reformed the laws against cattle theft in October 2019, led by Deputy David Bautista.

“Almost 7 million Mexicans every day confront the constant theft of their livestock. The price of every cow and horse is about 10,000 to 20,000 pesos,” Bautista said at the time.

With reports from Infobae

Elon Musk’s Starlink satelllite service gets federal approval

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MND Staff

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June 24, 2021

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Starlink mission — Starlink, which aims to provide satellite internet worldwide, currently is supported by some 1,800 satellites. SpaceX

Federal authorities have given a satellite internet service owned by business magnate Elon Musk permission to operate in Mexico.

The Federal Telecommunications Institute (IFT) granted Starlink Satellite Systems México authorization to send signals to and receive signals from satellites that provide coverage to Mexico.

The company, which was only recently established here, sought authorization on April 2, and the IFT granted it on May 28, the newspaper El Economista reported. It set a period of 180 days within which Starlink must be ready to offer its satellite internet service, meaning that the company will have to begin operations by October 28.

The IFT permit allows Starlink to operate for an initial period of 10 years. The company can seek to extend its authorization by additional periods of 10 years, provided it meets requirements set by the IFT. Starlink currently offers satellite internet service in parts of the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

Service at speeds of 1 Gbps cost US $99 per month in the United States. It was reported earlier this year that the cost will be the same in Mexico. Service will also require the purchase of a Starlink hardware kit, which will cost $499 plus shipping.

Starlink’s internet service is currently supported by some 1,800 satellites, but its network is slated to grow to 12,000, which will allow worldwide expansion.

According to reports on the quality of the service in the U.S. and Canada, the system offers much improved latency — 18 to 19 milliseconds —than other satellite systems. Latency is the time it takes for the signal to travel from a computer to a remote server and back.

Two other companies have also recently received permission to operate internet services in Mexico. One is Elektra Satelital, another satellite internet service, and the other is Claro TV, which could rent satellite capacity to Starlink, according to El Economista.

With reports from El Economista

The next public infrastructure disaster is only one politician’s whim away

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Sarah DeVries

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June 24, 2021

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Line 12 overpass Mexico City Metro — Preliminary findings fault poor workmanship for the May 3 collapse of an overpass on the Mexico City subway's Line 12, which killed 26 people.

As soon as the report in the New York Times came out about what had caused the Metro Line 12 bridge to collapse with dozens of passengers traveling on the train, I devoured it from beginning to end.

Like everyone, I wanted to know what had happened. And probably much like everyone, I was not surprised with what had been exposed.

In a nutshell, it had been built in a rush, much of the planning for it happening as construction went on (several people who defended the project said that was “perfectly normal”). Many parts of the steel beam underneath the overpass were not welded properly to the concrete and even seemed to be placed somewhat haphazardly.

In addition to this, the wheels of the trains didn’t fit the tracks properly. Adjustments were made, but that fact added to extra wear-and-tear from the beginning, aging it all exponentially. Apparently, the city government had bought Line 12’s trains from the company that had promised to get the cars built and sent to Mexico the quickest.

The overall conclusion was that it had faced problems since its birth.

Many engineers who worked on Line 12 had apparently sent out multiple warnings that several parts of the line were not structurally sound and even claimed that there were sections that received a stamp of regulatory approval almost simultaneously upon their official inspections.

My biggest question is this: who were these mysterious people saying, “Yup! Looks good!” when they’d barely seen it?

While there’s plenty of attention focused on the “Golden Line” now, I fear that we’re not paying enough attention to the other tragedies simply waiting to happen. According to a recent report by the Mexican College of Civil Engineers, 68% of elevated sections of the Metro need attention.

That 68% is not including, of course, the 90 bridges all over Mexico (including eight in my home state of Veracruz!) that are in danger of collapse and the 2,000 or so that are simply in dire need of repair lest they soon join the group of 90.

I know that most Mexicans are generally less risk-averse than my paranoid self is but, still, those are not good odds, and I’m not sure why there aren’t protests about it every single day. According to President López Obrador, people “understand that these things unfortunately happen,” as if there were nothing to be done about it.

Former mayor and now Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard claims that the New York Times was completely unfair in its assessment and did not include important things that he told them in his interview. Really, though, what can be said that would explain and exonerate him of responsibility for a very obviously rushed and shoddily built line?

While it may be true that the maintenance could have been better, to use a quote often thrown around during the 2008 United States presidential elections, “You can put lipstick on a pig,” but the underlying condition will be the same.

There seems to be a habit in Mexico of rushing to build all kinds of things so that politicians can say, “Ta-da! Look what we did for you!” Such is the case, for example, for many social housing units that are practically abandoned all over the country, but especially in the north.

On the outside, they look pretty (or at least did in the beginning): rows of identical dwellings, freshly painted.

But lift the rug for a peek underneath and the reasons for the abandonment become clear: homes much too small for more than one or two people; housing units literally in the middle of nowhere (which means far away from places where people can actually work); insecurity.

So many things seem like they’re built just for show, offered up as proof that those in charge are “getting things done.”

I love Mexico. Obviously, I love Mexico. And while I keep close ties to the U.S., (you never get to stop paying taxes there, after all), I’ve been living here for the past 19 years with no immediate plans to return. My relationship with Mexico is a committed one.

But like all old marriages, there are big and small things that annoy and perplex me. One of the biggest things is the fact that there are so many talented, capable and hardworking people here. So many. There is absolutely no lack of talent and ability in this country in pretty much any area you might think of.

And yet these talented, capable and hardworking people are not usually the ones who get to be in charge of the big important projects. Powerful people at all levels are in charge, and rather than allowing a meritocracy that all free societies dream of claiming, they tend to pass that power to whomever they wish. While my own country is no model of meritocracy either, the general public can at least be fairly sure that bridges aren’t going to collapse onto their heads.

My biggest frustration is that the force of the palanca (literally “lever” — practically meaning a powerful person’s leverage or influence for a specific outcome) always seems to be stronger than the ability to get the actual right person for the job. There are probably many people that would prefer to hire another person based on their qualifications but, again, the most powerful person in any organization is always the one who gets the final say.

And when budgets for big projects get eaten up by graft, as many do, even the most talented people pulled into the fold (and later blamed) can hardly be expected to figure out how to suddenly execute the same projects on half the budget and in half the time.

Again, this is not to criticize an entire country. My frustration lies in the fact that there is no need for it to be this way. There are plenty of people who know how to do things and want to do things properly: they know how much money it will cost, they know how long it will take, they have the knowledge to make sure it gets done properly.

It’s just that they’re not usually the decision-makers.

So, yes, Mr. President, people do “understand that these things happen.” But they also understand that these things don’t have to happen, and getting together to ensure that they don’t anymore will ultimately constitute a true revolution.

Sarah DeVries is a writer and translator based in Xalapa, Veracruz. She can be reached through her website, sdevrieswritingandtranslating.com and her Patreon page.

Central bank ups interest rate a quarter point to 4.25%

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MND Staff

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June 24, 2021

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The Bank of México board voted to raise the interest rate by 0.25% Thursday, in a surprise decision.

Three of the board’s five members voted in favor of the hike, deemed necessary to control inflation.

Mexican consumer prices rose 6.02% in the year through the first half of June, well above Banxico’s target of 3% plus or minus one percentage point, data from national statistics agency Inegi has shown.

Banxico said in a statement it was “necessary to strengthen the monetary policy stance in order to avoid adverse effects on inflation expectations, attain an orderly adjustment of relative prices, and enable the convergence of inflation to the 3% target.”

The last time the interest rate was increased was in 2018, when it was raised to 8.25%. Since then the central bank has consistently cut interest rates beginning in 2019, as the economy contracted even before the Covid-19 pandemic. Board members voted to maintain a 4% rate at the last two meetings.

The decision went against the predictions of 23 economists surveyed by Bloomberg, who expected no rate change. Some observers had speculated that changes to the Banxico board since 2018 would make it less proactive, despite stubbornly high inflation.

Economist at Banco Base, Gabriela Siller, said the move was a sign of political transition. “The surprising increase in the rate indicates that the policy of economic emergency has ended,” she said, referring to conservative market policy brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Goldman Sachs economist Alberto Ramos applauded the decision. “Signaling is for Wimps! No Signal, No Hesitation, No Fear of a Market Surprise,” he said.

Ratings agency S&P on Thursday raised its forecasts for Mexico’s economic growth to 5.8% for this year and 2.9% in 2022, saying Latin America’s second-largest economy was benefiting from a strong U.S. recovery, which has stimulated manufacturing exports and remittance payments.

President López Obrador recently forecast that by the third quarter the Mexican economy will reach pre-pandemic levels, after gross domestic product contracted by some 8.5% last year driven by pandemic-related fallout.

The peso was up as much as 2% on the day against the U.S. dollar after the rate hike. Banxico has said it expects to hit its inflation target during the third quarter of 2022.

With reports from El Economista, Infobae and Reuters

Mexico wins 9 Lions on 2nd day of Cannes creativity festival

By

MND Staff

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June 24, 2021

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Eva Center breast detection cabins — Leo Burnett's campaign was for portable infrared thermography breast cancer detection booths, where a woman can be examined without being seen or touched.

Two Mexican advertising agencies have won a combined total of nine awards at the Cannes Lion International Festival of Creativity, a global creative communications event.

Leo Burnett México won two Lion awards, or Lions, for its Untouchables advertising campaign, while Publicis México won seven for its #SeguimosHablando (Let’s Keep Talking) campaign.

The former’s campaign was produced for Eva Center, a Mexican startup that developed a method to detect breast cancer through infrared thermography. Leo Burnett won a silver Lion for its campaign in the health and wellness category and a bronze Lion in the outdoor category on the first day of the five-day online event.

Eva Center’s breast cancer detection technology is primarily aimed at women in rural communities, where some men prohibit their wives from attending breast cancer screenings because they don’t want them to be touched or seen topless.

The infrared thermography process avoids both. Eva Center has taken its technology to 80 rural communities across 14 states and detected some 1,500 cases of breast cancer before it was too late.

#SeguimosHablando

Watch this video on YouTube

One of the award-winning campaigns features this video calling for justice in the cases of murdered journalists.

Publicis México won two gold, two silver and three bronze Lions across four different categories for its #SeguimosHablando campaign, which it made in conjunction with Propuesta Cívica, a civil society organization dedicated to the defense of human rights defenders and journalists.

The multi-platform campaign calls for justice in the cases of murdered journalists in Mexico, one of the most dangerous countries in the world for media professionals. It features spoken and written messages from four slain journalists, including Javier Valdez Cárdenas and Miroslava Breach.

“The campaign seeks to demand justice for all the members of the press who have been murdered and to make this tragedy visible as a first step … [toward] concrete actions to put an end to this problem,” said Publicis Worldwide chief creative officer Diego Wallach, who worked on the campaign.

The #SeguimosHablando campaign, which began in 2019, has also won several other international advertising prizes, including the prestigious Yellow Pencil award.

With nine Lions going to the two Mexican companies on the first two days of the festival, Mexico bettered the result it achieved at the 2019 version of the event, at which five Lions were won by Mexican firms. The festival concludes on Friday.

With reports from Expansión

Lawyers to seek millions of pesos in compensation for families of Metro crash victims

By

MND Staff

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June 24, 2021

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Tania-and-Nancy-Lezama — Tania, left, and Nancy Lezama, two Mexico City sisters who were riding Line 12 when it crashed on May 3. Nancy, 22, died while Tania remains hospitalized.

Lawyers for victims of the May 3 Metro disaster in Mexico City that left 26 people dead will seek significantly larger compensation payments for their clients than what’s being offered.

Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum announced May 8 that families of people who died in the accident caused by the collapse of an overpass on Line 12 would receive a total of 700,000 pesos (US $35,000): 650,000 pesos from Metro operator STC and 50,000 pesos from the Mexico City government.

People injured in the crash – which preliminary investigation results indicate was caused by construction flaws — will receive just 10,000 pesos (US $500), Sheinbaum said.

Cristopher Estupiñán, a lawyer with the Nuevo León law firm Carbino Legal, said he and The Webster Law Firm of Houston, Texas, will seek much larger payouts for their clients. Estupiñán told the newspaper El País that the compensation on offer was a “joke.”

“It’s time for the richest business people to assume their responsibility for the first time in the history of the country,” he said.

Bernarda Salgado, Juan Antonio Medina, Cristopher Estupinan, Jason Webster — From left: Bernarda Salgado, left, mother of victims Tania and Nancy Lezama with Juan Antonio Medina and Cristopher Estupiñán of Carbino Legal and Jason Webster of The Webster Law Firm, which will file a claim against the Metro’s builders in the US.

Carso Infrastructure and Construction, owned by billionaire businessman Carlos Slim, was involved in the construction of Line 12, which opened in 2012.

“We will seek a payment of tens if not hundreds of millions of pesos for each victim of the Line 12 [disaster],” Estupiñán said.

“It’s a joke for the families; don’t come and tell us that 650,000 pesos is comprehensive compensation.”

The lawyer also said that victims’ families have been pressured to sign a document accepting a payment of that size and agreeing not to seek additional compensation. In addition, according to a report by the newspaper El Financiero, the Metro operator told families that if they reveal the conditions of the agreement they could face legal action and penalties themselves.

“… They’re taking advantage of the vulnerability of the victims,” Estupiñán said, adding that the aim of the STC is to ensure that it doesn’t have to make any future compensation payments.

“… What we’re demanding of the construction consortium [which also included French company Alstom and Mexican firm ICA] is for it to assume the civil responsibility of its negligence and to deliver compensation that is fair and consistent with the profits it obtained from this project,” he said.

CDMX Metro Line 12 crash — Carso Infrastructure and Construction, owned by billionaire businessman Carlos Slim, was involved in the construction of Line 12, which opened in 2012.

Carbino Legal and The Webster Law Firm are preparing a civil case against the companies in the United States that is likely to be presented in August after Norwegian company DNV — contracted by the Mexico City government to conduct an independent inquiry into the causes of the crash — has published its final results.

Estupiñán said that legal action is being pursued in the United States because the three companies have offices there. He also said that the U.S. legal system is not susceptible to influence and outside pressure.

“[The United States] has historically handed down punishments without fear and without caring who is responsible,” he said.

Legal action in the United States and Mexico could last years, Estupiñán said, asserting that “a David and Goliath battle” looms. Carbino Legal is set to initiate criminal and administrative action against those responsible for the collapse of the overpass. Miguel Alcalde, a partner with the firm, said he is convinced that the Mexico City government is partially to blame.

“We’re convinced that there was irregular activity on the part of the government because it had the obligation to guarantee that the construction complied with regulations, to carry out certifications, to verify maintenance and to review [the line] continuously,” he told the newspaper Reforma.

“The imperative thing is for the government to be condemned administratively, for officials to be sanctioned,” Alcalde said, adding that those directly responsible for the negligence that caused the overpass to collapse must face criminal penalties.

Edgar Lezama and Alejandro Lezama, relatives of Nancy and Tania — Victims’ relatives Edgar and Alejandro Lezama listen at a press conference to their lawyers announce their intention to file for greater compensation.

President López Obrador on Wednesday accused lawyers for the victims of seeking to profit from “human pain.”

“…They’re [only] interested in money, they’re trying to extract more,” he told reporters at his regular news conference.

Alcalde countered that his law firm is only seeking justice for the victims and to avoid any similar tragedy in the future.

The president’s discourse is an attempt to intimidate the victims, he said, “because the government is saying that they are establishing how much [compensation] should be given when it’s up to the courts to decide.”

Carbino Legal said in a statement that López Obrador’s remarks were seeking to discredit its work “without any proof.”

“Our intervention in this case is not a question of ‘profit.’ … Rather it’s a campaign for justice and truth that transcends any personal interest. … We have a historical opportunity to achieve true compensation for damage caused by negligent and generalized collusion that exists in public projects in our country.”

With reports from Reforma, El País, El Financiero and Milenio